“the man with the big right hand is seal hunting”

As always, I try to maximize the stone and get as
much from it as possible. Originally I was going
to have him standing in deep snow with his
harpoon — but no! As the form emerged I was
looking it over and ended up seeing him in a
kayak. A friend of mine had just stopped over
and had given me a couple of nice pieces of witch
hazel (a local wood here) and right away I saw
the opportunity to get a good size kayak. I went
and did some research on kayaks — the photographs
gave me both ideas and helped me to treat things authentically.

The piece got this title because, as I mentioned,
I do try to utilize the stone to its fullest —
and this big hand just came from that process. I
also wanted to get across the idea that, no
matter what slips that nature might throw at you,
we can overcome any obstacle if we try hard
enough. Here we see this out there happily
hunting seals — and he is doing very well in spite of his enormous hand.

Massie’s work is a reflection of his mixed Inuit, Métis and Scottish heritage. In it, he investigates both traditional and contemporary themes. He has achieved renown for his innovative teapots that combine themes and symbols from his native Inuit culture with European traditions. Massie has been twice short-listed for the coveted Prix Saidye Bronfman and has an extensive international reputation. His work has been shown in North America and Europe, including the National Gallery of Canada. He was elected a member of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2011.